ESTATE PLANNING – Eric Schwab Does Wills, Powers of Attorney,
and Health Care Proxies-We Also Fix “Internet Wills!”
No one likes to imagine getting seriously ill, injured or worse, but these occurrences are a reality of life. Although you can’t prevent every catastrophic scenario, you can better manage the consequences by figuring out what you want to happen if you become incapacitated or pass away. Who should manage your money when you can’t? What are your preferences for health care? Who will inherit your property?
A comprehensive estate plan includes legal documents that lay out your instructions for medical professionals, the financial institutions managing your money and the courts that will distribute your assets after your death.
If you don’t have everything prepared, you’re leaving your loved ones with a mess and leaving yourself unprotected. For example, the court may pick someone you don’t trust to make decisions on your behalf. Your assets could go to people you haven’t spoken to in years.
Three components of a typical estate plan
An estate plan is a combination of legally binding documents that outline your instructions and desires to protect your voice when you can no longer speak.
Each document plays a different role. A complete estate plan should include the following:
Living Will/Health Care Proxy. A living will lays out your desires for medical care. Are there any treatments that you’d refuse, such as artificial nutrition through feeding tubes or blood transfusions? How aggressively do you want doctors to manage end-of-life care, such as when you’re alive but will never regain brain function?
If you have no documents in place, doctors typically will do whatever it takes to keep you alive, even if that care is more aggressive and invasive than you’d like. In addition, loved ones may be required to make these end-of-life decisions.
The Living Wills prepared by SchwabLaw also include the health care power of attorney language. Similar to the financial Durable General Power of Attorney that Mr. Schwab prepares for you; the Living Will names someone to make medical decisions on your behalf when you cannot. That individual serves as your health care agent/proxy, communicating with the doctors, and deciding what course of treatment is best- based on what they think you would want and the instructions in your Living Will.
If you don’t name a health care proxy ahead of time, your loved ones may need to go to court to be legally assigned this role, which could become contentious and expensive-especially if they disagree with one another about your wishes.
The Terri Schiavo case in Florida is a famous example. In 1990, 26-year-old Schiavo suffered cardiac arrest and fell into a vegetative state. Schiavo had never shared her wishes in writing for care in such a situation, and for years, her husband and parents fought in court over whether she should stay on life support.
Eric Schwab recommends a Living Will as part of your Estate Plan. At SchwabLaw, our 8 page Living Wills are less than $200 complete- including interview, doc prep, and proper notarization. That’ s a bargain so just call the office for your appointment. (732)750-0200.
Financial Power of Attorney. A financial power of attorney names someone to manage your money when you’re unable to do it yourself. Typically, your named agent will be allowed to access your financial accounts to pay your bills and manage your assets. Once again, if you don’t pick someone ahead of time, the courts will decide for you.
I recommend we set up the NJ General Durable Power of Attorney to be effective immediately and you will then store the document in a safe place, such as a locked file cabinet in your home office, where the agent will access it only when you need help.
A General Durable Power of Attorney prepared by Eric Schwab is a powerful and inexpensive (about $ 249 complete) tool that needs to be prepared while you are healthy. Remember “it is better to have and not need, than to need and not have.” Call Eric at (732) 750-0200.
Last Will and Testament. A Last Will and Testament explains who should inherit your assets. It also names an executor to oversee the distribution of your final estate and pay any last bills. If you have minor children or other dependents, Mr. Schwab will design the Last Will and Testament to designate who will take over as their guardian and who will hold their inheritance until they are of age (trustee). For these reasons, creating a Will makes sense even if you don’t have a lot of property.
Wills here at SchwabLaw are not expensive, are professionally prepared by a NJ Licensed Attorney and start at around $439 complete.
Those “internet wills” we all see advertised are, in our opinion, risky, impersonal, time-consuming, confusing, lack the face-to-face attorney-client relationship and may even wind up being just plain inappropriate in NJ. I know, I’ve “fixed” hundreds of them over the years.
Don’t invite a headache-call Eric Schwab to get it all done for you. (732) 750-0200.
BUT WAIT ERIC! my Hairdresser told me to talk to a lawyer about a trust. These things are aggressively marketed on TV, Internet and Radio Shows offering to “Avoid Probate” and to save on taxes – among other rather dubious claims. ERIC SEZ… Friends Don’t Let Friends Get Their Legal Advice at the Beauty Salon or Barber Shop. The reality is that New Jersey is known as “Probate Friendly” (unlike Florida, for example) and, after all is said and done, most of my clients no not need to retitle and transfer their assets into an irrevocable Trust. Rather than explain here all of the hows and whys of these things, I refer you to an excellent article written by Edison Attorney Ken Vercammen, Esq.
https://www.njlaws.com/DontGetRippedOffByTheLovingTrust.html?id=8886